Window facing an ill-kept front yard
Plums on the tree heavy with nectar
Prayers to summon the destroying angel
Moon stuttering in the sky like film stuck in a projector
And you
You

Twin prop airplanes passing loudly overhead
Road to the airport two lanes clear
Half the whole town gone for the summer
Terrible silence coming down here
And you
You

There is no deadline
There is no schedule
There is no plan we can fall back on
The road this far can't be retraced
There is no punch line anybody can tack on
There are loose ends by the score
What did I come down here for?
You
You

Overall Meaning

In the opening verses of "Tallahassee," John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats paints a vivid picture of an ill-kept front yard with plums heavy with nectar on the tree. The scene is set against a backdrop of eerie quiet, punctuated only by twin prop airplanes passing loudly overhead on the road to the airport, and a terrible silence coming down. The singer of the song is clearly feeling lost and alone, in a place that feels stuck in time.

As he repeats the haunting refrain of "you, you," it becomes clear that he is not truly alone, but rather in the company of a person who is with him physically but perhaps emotionally distant. The lyrics suggest that the two of them are in a state of transition or uncertainty, with no deadline, schedule, or plan to fall back on. The past cannot be retraced, and there are loose ends by the score.

The overall impression is one of a person adrift, struggling to come to terms with his place in the world, and questioning what he came down to Tallahassee for in the first place. The use of vivid imagery and haunting repetition create a sense of unease, and paint a picture of a place stuck in a state of limbo.

Line by Line Meaning

Window facing an ill-kept front yard
I am in Tallahassee and I see through my window a badly maintained front yard

Plums on the tree heavy with nectar
On the tree outside the window, plums laden with sweet nectar are hanging

Prayers to summon the destroying angel
I am hoping for destruction to end the misery of living in Tallahassee

Moon stuttering in the sky like film stuck in a projector
The moon is stuttering in the sky like a film that's jammed in a projector

And you
The person with me is also here

Twin prop airplanes passing loudly overhead
Twin-engine planes are noisily passing over us

Road to the airport two lanes clear
The road leading to the airport is mostly clear with two lanes

Half the whole town gone for the summer
About half of the residents of Tallahassee are away for the summer

Terrible silence coming down here
A terrible silence is descending upon us here in Tallahassee

There is no deadline
There is no time limit or deadline for our stay in Tallahassee

There is no schedule
We have no set schedule or plan while in Tallahassee

There is no plan we can fall back on
We have no fallback plan while staying in Tallahassee

The road this far can't be retraced
We have come too far to turn back or retrace our steps

There is no punch line anybody can tack on
There is no clever or humorous ending to our situation in Tallahassee

There are loose ends by the score
There are many unresolved issues or details to be sorted out

What did I come down here for?
I am questioning why I came to Tallahassee in the first place

You
The person I am with is here with me in Tallahassee

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